TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1347

Innovative Technology for Computer­Automated Bridge Inspection Process

S. S. Kuo, THOMAS E. DAVIDSON, LEONARD M. FIJI, AND RICHARD KERR

A procedure is presented for automated data collection and re­porting of bridge deficiencies. TI1e procedure was developed under the sponsor hip of the Florida Department of Tran portarion (FDOT). A computer program for field data collection based on FDOT's ondensed ln pection Report ( IR) was designed for a lrnndheld computer. The program is used to input condition rating and generate or edit comments for each bridge element on the IR. A text-fil.e record of the inspection is stored in the handheld computer for subsequent uploading to an office-based personal computer (P ) system. Visual informat.ion on bridge defects can be recorded with a camcorder or 35-mm camera, or by ketch. The images are digitized and to.red 11 computer disk with an automated system developed for the P . The P ·y tern u es the JetFonn form program to place the image and text-file inspection record onto the cover, JR omprehensive Report of Deficiencies, and Image Log form . The complete bridge in· ·pection reports are saved to computer disks for archiving and for printing final copies n a laser printe.r. This automated pro­cedure wa tested in a F.DOT bridge i.nspcction district. Field inspection time was comparable with the conventional method;

ffice time required for completion of reports was significantly reduced.

This study presents the design of a computer-automated bridge inspection system for the Florida Department of Transpor­tation (FDOT). The purpose of the system is to increase field inspection organization and accuracy and to speed office-based report preparation. The field system uses a handheld com­puter, a video camera, and computer programs to aid the collection of bridge data. The office system combines a per­sonal computer (PC), imaging equipment, and computer pro­grams to assist report preparation and archiving.

In order to accomplish these tasks, the study includes procedures and equipment for automating bridge inspection data collection and reporting, development of data collection and reporting software, a test of the system in a FDOT bridge inspection district, and an evaluation of the inspec­tion procedures.

INSPECTION PROCEDURES

The proposed bridge inspection system for FDOT has two distinct parts: a field system and an office system. The field system has three tasks: to record numerical ratings of the condition of bridge components, provide an efficient method

S. S. Kuo, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Uni­versity of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla. 32816-4450. T. E. David­son , Parsons DeLcuw, lnc. , 2300 Maitland enter Parkway, Mait­land, Fla. 32751 . L. M. Fiji, alifornia Department of Transporta­t.ion, 120 outh pring Street, Los Angeles. alif. 91012. R. Kerr, Florida Department of Transportation, Tallahassee, Fla. 32301.

of entering narrative descriptions of bridge component de­fects, and visually document serious bridge component de­fects. The office system has four tasks: to place the bridge component condition ratings onto FDOT's Condensed In­spection Report (CIR), produce FDOT's Comprehensive Re­port of Deficiencies Section B narrative report describing bridge component defects, store and print photo logs of bridge com­ponent defects, and automatically integrate these sections into a bridge inspection report that can be easily archived on com­puter disk and printed.

The computer-automated bridge inspection system uses a portable computer programmed to be compatible with FDOT's bridge inspection reporting procedures. Past bridge inspection reports are uploaded to the portable computer from a desktop PC used to store bridge inspection data. Narrative descrip­tions of existing defects are edited by the inspectors. New descriptions of defects are keyed into the portable computer using a set of shorthand codes of commonly used descriptive words. Videotapes, photographs, or sketches are made of serious deficiencies and noted in the portable computer in­spection program.

After all deficiencies have been documented, the inspectors enter ratings of each bridge element's condition. Descriptions of the condition of each element are displayed to the inspector before he or she enters a rating. When all ratings have been entered, the program assembles the data into files that can be transferred back to the PC at the inspection office.

On returning to the office, the inspectors download the new inspection data to the PC. A form-generation program as­sembles the data into a cover page, CIR, and Comprehensive Report of Deficiencies and prints these sections at the request of the inspectors. Digitizing programs request the video im­ages, photographs, and sketches made during the inspection and convert them to formats that can be stored on the com­puter. Image logs containing descriptions of each defect vis­ually documented on a bridge can then be printed at the inspectors' request.

Field work is accomplished by two-person teams. One in­spector handles the portable computer while the other handles the video and photographic equipment. Tool belts and car­rying cases were designed to make carrying and using the equipment easier. Small two-way radios provide communi­cation for the inspectors if they are separated.

FIELD EQUIPMENT

Paravant RHC-44 Handheld Computer

FDOT specified that all field equipment be as lightweight and durable as possible. The Paravant RHC-44 is a lightweight

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handheld computer that uses removable battery-backed ran­dom access memory (RAM) cards that perform the same function as floppy disks in PCs. It is MS-DOS compatible and can be programmed in BASIC, C, FORTRAN, Ada, and Pascal.

Sony CCD-TR5 Handycam 8-mm Camcorder

FDOT required that the camcorder chosen for the study be durable, provide clear pictures, be as small as possible, enable mounting of lights , and be usable underwater. No one cam­corder meets all of these requirements, but the Sony CCD­TR5 camcorder meets most of them.

Voice Actuated Audionic FM Transceiver

The Radio Shack Voice Actuated Audionic FM Transceiver was chosen as the communication device for this study because of its small size, economical price, and innovative design . The system has a single earpiece that functions as both a receiver and a microphone.

Tool Belts

The portable field equipment just described can be carried easily with properly designed carrying cases and used on bridges. J.A.C. Custom Pouches of Marcellus, Michigan, used high­strength, weatherproof Cordura and polypropylene to custom make tool belts and carrying cases for the field equipment . Two special carrying cases were designed for the portable computer and camcorder.

OFFICE EQUIPMENT

PC

An MS-DOS PC based at the district inspection office is re­quired to control the transfer and assembly of inspection data into a report. Because the computer-automated bridge in­spection system depends heavily on computer graphics, a PC with a fast processors, large amount of internal memory, and high-quality video and storage subsystems is necessary. Figure 1 shows a schematic of the computer configuration recommended for the computer-automated bridge inspec­tion system.

Hewlett Packard Scanjet Plus Optical Scanner

The computer-automated bridge inspection system provides two ways to acquire images for storage on computer disk . The first of these methods uses the Hewlett Packard Scanjet Plus Optical Scanner to digitize photos and sketches. Scanned images can be saved on computer disk, displayed on a mon­itor, or printed.

TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH RECORD 1347

Sigma Designs Video Image Capture Board

The second method of acquiring images for computer storage uses the Sigma Designs Video Image Capture Board. The image capture board is an expansion card that accepts stan­dard video signals from a video camera or video cassette recorder and digitizes frames for storage or display on a com­puter. Video frames can be displayed in real time on a sep­arate television monitor or at three frames per second on the computer's video graphics array (VGA) display. In either case, frames are always captured in real time. Once captured, images can be saved in Tag Image File Format (TIFF), PC Paintbrush (PCX) , or several other popular file formats.

Hewlett Packard LaserJet Series II Printer with Intel Visual Edge Enhancement

To produce professional quality reports, a high-resolution printing device is needed. A laser printer was chosen for this study because of its ability to output high-resolution text and graphics at a relatively low cost . The laser printer selected for this study was the HP LaserJet Series II. The Intel Visual Edge Enhancement for the Series II is a set of add-on boards that enables the Series II to produce graphics with twice the quality and up to six times the speed of the Series II alone.

FIELD DATA COLLECTION SOFTWARE

The field data collection software, which is written in Micro­soft BASIC Professional Development System Version 7.0, is designed to run on the RHC-44 handheld computer. The software can also be run on any PC to enter existing data from conventional inspections before the field work. Bridge condition ratings and narrative defect descriptions are col­lected with the program and organized into files for transfer­ence to an office-based PC.

FDOT's CIR for static bridges organizes a bridge into six components: substructure, superstructure, deck , approach roadway, channel, and nonstructural. These components are further broken down into elements. The field data collection program is based on the structure of the CIR. Figure 2 shows the main menu of the field bridge inspection software known as BIS . BIS has built-in routines that check the validity of data entered. The program will warn the user if the data are not acceptable. The data acquisition program is divided into three components: general input, numerical condition ration (NCR) input, and comment input and generation.

The general input section handles data that relate to the cover sheet. These are the bridge numbers, date, and iden­tification of inspectors . The software also asks the number of bridges to be inspected. Up to six bridges can be inspected simultaneously.

The NCR input section has built-in features to ensure that all components and elements are addressed . NCRs of ele­ments that have comments in the Comprehensive Report of Deficiencies, Section B of the report, are automatically af­fixed with an asterisk . The user of the report then knows to